Die Interviews - Ergebnisse aus 20 Großstädten Deutschlands DFG-Forschungsprojekt "Stadträume in Spannungsfeldern"

DIE INTERVIEWS - ERGEBNISSE AUS 20 GROSSSTÄDTEN DEUTSCHLANDS DFG-FORSCHUNGSPROJEKT "STADTRÄUME IN SPANNUNGSFELDERN" Stars-Materialien (Rights reserved) (-) IssueTeil 01 Das Forschungsprojekt - Eine Kurzdokumentation des DFG-Forschungsprojektes "Stadträume in Spannungsfeldern" (Rights reserved) ( - ) IssueTeil 02 Die Fallstudien - Ergebnisse aus Leipzig, Hannover und Aachen DFG-Forschungsprojekt "Stadträume in Spannungsfeldern" (Rights reserved) ( - ) IssueTeil 03 Die Interviews - Ergebnisse aus 20 Großstädten Deutschlands DFG-Forschungsprojekt "Stadträume in Spannungsfeldern" (Rights reserved) ( -

O impacto da abstinência nos níveis séricos de leptina e no perfil nutricional de alcoolistas

Introduction: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with changes in metabolism and in the nutritional profile. Food-seeking behaviors and psychoactive substances share common biological pathways that activate the reward system and leptin is a modulator of this system. Objective: To measure serum leptin levels and nutritional status of individuals with before their detoxification and then 15 days later. Material and Methods: In total, 38 men diagnosed with AUD and admitted to a detoxification unit were analyzed. Serum leptin levels, Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC) and body composition were assessed by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) within the first 48 hours of hospital admission and again 15 days after the first assessment. Results: Weight, BMI and WC increased significantly during detoxing (p<0.001), but body fat and leptin levels percentages remained similar. At admission, leptin levels were positively correlated with body fat (0.607), WC (0.696), and BMI (0.357). After 15 days, only leptin and BMI were significantly correlated (0.462). Conclusion: Our results reinforce the relationship between leptin and nutritional parameters related to body weight. It is essential to educate about nutrition and to encourage healthy eating behaviors so individuals with AUD can reduce weight gain during the recovery period.Introdução: O transtorno por uso de álcool (TUA) está associado a alterações metabólicas e perfil nutricional. Comportamento de busca de alimentos e substâncias psicoativas compartilham vias biológicas comuns ativando o sistema de recompensa e a leptina modula esse sistema. Objetivo: Avaliar níveis séricos de leptina e estado nutricional de indivíduos antes e 15 dias após a desintoxicação. Materiais e Métodos: Foram analisados 38 homens com diagnóstico de TUA internados em unidade de desintoxicação. Níveis séricos de leptina, Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC), Circunferência da Cintura (CC) e composição corporal foram avaliados por Bioimpedância Elétrica (BIA) nas primeiras 48 horas de internação e 15 dias após a primeira avaliação. Resultados: Peso, IMC e CC aumentaram significativamente durante a desintoxicação (p<0,001), mas os percentuais de gordura corporal e níveis de leptina permaneceram semelhantes. Na admissão, os níveis de leptina foram positivamente correlacionados com a gordura corporal (0,607), CC (0,696) e IMC (0,357). Após 15 dias, apenas leptina e IMC foram significativamente correlacionados (0,462). Conclusão: Os resultados reforçam a relação entre leptina e parâmetros nutricionais relacionados ao peso corporal. A educação nutricional e o incentivo ao comportamento alimentar saudável são essenciais para que indivíduos com TUA reduzam o ganho de peso na desintoxicação

Die Fallstudien - Ergebnisse aus Leipzig, Hannover und Aachen DFG-Forschungsprojekt "Stadträume in Spannungsfeldern"

DIE FALLSTUDIEN - ERGEBNISSE AUS LEIPZIG, HANNOVER UND AACHEN DFG-FORSCHUNGSPROJEKT "STADTRÄUME IN SPANNUNGSFELDERN" Stars-Materialien (Rights reserved) (-) IssueTeil 01 Das Forschungsprojekt - Eine Kurzdokumentation des DFG-Forschungsprojektes "Stadträume in Spannungsfeldern" (Rights reserved) ( - ) IssueTeil 02 Die Fallstudien - Ergebnisse aus Leipzig, Hannover und Aachen DFG-Forschungsprojekt "Stadträume in Spannungsfeldern" (Rights reserved) ( - ) IssueTeil 03 Die Interviews - Ergebnisse aus 20 Großstädten Deutschlands DFG-Forschungsprojekt "Stadträume in Spannungsfeldern" (Rights reserved) ( -

Mutations in the Mitochondrial Citrate Carrier SLC25A1 are Associated with Impaired Neuromuscular Transmission.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Congenital myasthenic syndromes are rare inherited disorders characterized by fatigable weakness caused by malfunction of the neuromuscular junction. We performed whole exome sequencing to unravel the genetic aetiology in an English sib pair with clinical features suggestive of congenital myasthenia. METHODS: We used homozygosity mapping and whole exome sequencing to identify the candidate gene variants. Mutant protein expression and function were assessed in vitro and a knockdown zebrafish model was generated to assess neuromuscular junction development. RESULTS: We identified a novel homozygous missense mutation in the SLC25A1 gene, encoding the mitochondrial citrate carrier. Mutant SLC25A1 showed abnormal carrier function. SLC25A1 has recently been linked to a severe, often lethal clinical phenotype. Our patients had a milder phenotype presenting primarily as a neuromuscular (NMJ) junction defect. Of note, a previously reported patient with different compound heterozygous missense mutations of SLC25A1 has since been shown to suffer from a neuromuscular transmission defect. Using knockdown of SLC25A1 expression in zebrafish, we were able to mirror the human disease in terms of variable brain, eye and cardiac involvement. Importantly, we show clear abnormalities in the neuromuscular junction, regardless of the severity of the phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the axonal outgrowth defects seen in SLC25A1 knockdown zebrafish, we hypothesize that the neuromuscular junction impairment may be related to pre-synaptic nerve terminal abnormalities. Our findings highlight the complex machinery required to ensure efficient neuromuscular function, beyond the proteomes exclusive to the neuromuscular synapse

The Emergence of a Standards Market: Multiplicity of Sustainability Standards in the Global Coffee Industry

The growing number of voluntary standards for governing transnational arenas is presenting standards organizations with a problem. While claiming that they are pursuing shared, overarching objectives, at the same time, they are promoting their own respective standards that are increasingly similar. By developing the notion of ‘standards markets,’ this paper examines this tension and studies how different social movement and industry-driven standards organizations compete as well as collaborate over governance in transnational arenas. Based on an in-depth case study of sustainability standards in the global coffee industry, we find that the ongoing co-existence of multiple standards is being promoted by the interplay between two countervailing mechanisms: convergence and differentiation. In conjunction, these mechanisms are enabling the emergence and persistence of a market for standards through what we describe as meta-standardization of sustainable practices. Meta-standardization leads to convergence at the ‘rules of the game’ level, but allows also differentiation at the attributes level, which is enabling parties to create and maintain their own standards. Our study helps to advance the understanding of transnational governance by explaining the dynamics of competing and collaborating non-state actors in constituting a standards market

National contexts matter : the co-evolution of sustainability standards in global value chains

In this paper, we investigate the role of key industry and other stakeholders and their embeddedness in particular national contexts in driving the proliferation and co-evolution of sustainability standards, based on the case of the global coffee industry. We find that institutional conditions and market opportunity structures in consuming countries have been important sources of standards variation, for example in the cases of Fairtrade, UTZ Certified and the Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C). In turn, supplier structures in producing countries as well as their linkages with traders and buyers targeting particular consuming countries have been key mechanisms of standards transmission and selection. Unlike prior research, which has emphasized the role of global actors and structures in promoting – and hindering – sustainability initiatives, we argue that national economic and institutional conditions in consuming and producing countries have not only served as important drivers of standards multiplicity and co-evolution, but also as catalysts for the entire global sustainability movement

Hexosamine Biosynthetic Pathway Mutations Cause Neuromuscular Transmission Defect

Neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) are synapses that transmit impulses from motor neurons to skeletal muscle fibers leading to muscle contraction. Study of hereditary disorders of neuromuscular transmission, termed congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS), has helped elucidate fundamental processes influencing development and function of the nerve-muscle synapse. Using genetic linkage, we find 18 different biallelic mutations in the gene encoding glutamine-fructose-6-phosphate transaminase 1 (GFPT1) in 13 unrelated families with an autosomal recessive CMS. Consistent with these data, downregulation of the GFPT1 ortholog gfpt1 in zebrafish embryos altered muscle fiber morphology and impaired neuromuscular junction development. GFPT1 is the key enzyme of the hexosamine pathway yielding the amino sugar UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, an essential substrate for protein glycosylation. Our findings provide further impetus to study the glycobiology of NMJ and synapses in general